QWest • Tampico Gold (1981 - CAN) Full Album • AOR • Melodic Rock • Canada Rock • Rare Diamonds
Hi Rock Lovers,
here’s album no. 1 from Canadian Rock-Heroes QWest called Tampico Gold (1981)
(By the way: Watch out for the 2nd album \"Dream Zone\" also uploaded by me!!)
E • N • J • O • Y
Line Up:
• Shelly Gellner - Guitars and Vocals
• Barry Gellner - Bass and Vocals
• Jim Symcych - Drums
• Greg Gunhold - Guitars and Background Vocals
Tracklist:
Side 1
01. Knock Me Out 00:00
02. Harder All The Time 03:32
03. Stick ’Em Up 06:54
04. Heartbreaker 09:44
05. It’s A New Day 12:45
Side 2
01. Carry On 15:58
02. Time Is Running Out 18:45
03. Hold Out 21:53
04. Who Said 25:01
05. Goin’ Down 28:06
• Produced By Mel Shaw for Greg Thomas Productions
• Recorded at Smooth Rock Studios, Calgary, Alberta
• Engineered by Gabriel Boucher
• Mastered at The Lacquer Channel Limited, Toronto
• Management: Greg Thomas Productions
• MWC Records 1981
• Distributed by Rio Records
\"Formed in Calgary in the late 1970s, Qwest was centred around the Gellner brothers - Shelly on guitars and Barry on bass, both who also shared lead vocal duties. With guitarist Greg Gunhold and drummer Jim Symchych, they honed their chops around the Alberta circuit as a cover band over the next couple of years while writing their own material.
After they signed a deal with manager Greg Thomas and some studio time was booked, Dan Lowe (49th Parallel, Painter, Hammersmith, 451°) was brought in to oversee the recording sessions. But unsatisfied, the tapes were scrapped and they instead went to former Stampeders manager Mel Shaw.
The result was the band's debut album, TAMPICO GOLD, released in '81 on Shaw's Music World Creations label. No singles were released, but with tracks like \"Stick 'Em Up\" and \"Heartbreaker,\" the band found an audience through FM's Album Rock format. And with that push, they carried on playing the prairies and made a couple of trips to the West Coast over the next few years.
After signing a new deal with Quality Records, they invited Lowe back into the studios, and released their follow-up, DREAM ZONE in 1984. Although in the same vein as the first album, the new record was more focused, with more keyboards and studio tampering than before. The lead single was \"I Don't Wanna Break Your Heart,\" and along with \"You're Not So Hot,\" \"Dreamer,\" and \"Nothing To Lose,\" was indicative of the album, keyboard-oriented AOR pop/metal with tamed guitar solos. But when the album again failed to make a dent in the charts, within a year or so everyone drifted off to do other projects.\"
